Kicking off their respective pre-season tours, Barcelona meet Juventus for a friendly encounter in California on Saturday.
Two European giants will slug it out for a morale-boosting win at the home of the San Francisco 49ers, with both preparing for a fast-approaching 2023-24 campaign.
Match preview
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Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona begin the build-up to the defence of their title this week, as they undertake the Catalan club's 14th tour of the United States - the first of which came back in 1937.
The Blaugrana will therefore return to last season's pre-season destination, although 12 months ago they predominantly played on the East Coast; this time around, three of four friendlies will be held on the West Coast.
The first fixture in the Soccer Champions Tour sees Barcelona take on Juventus in Santa Clara, with games against Arsenal, arch-rivals Real Madrid and AC Milan to follow.
Two of three major signings in the current transfer window - Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez - are available to Barca boss Xavi this weekend, while Brazilian wonderkid Vitor Roque will arrive at Camp Nou in the summer of 2024.
Despite finishing their 2022-23 season with a last-day loss to Celta Vigo, Barcelona strolled home 10 points clear at the top of the Primera Division standings.
With runners-up Real Madrid sure to push them hard again over the upcoming campaign, getting ready for next month's La Liga opener at Getafe will be foremost in Xavi's thoughts, and a series of friendly wins would help build momentum before the big kickoff.
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While Barcelona joined Juventus in underperforming on the European stage last term, Juve also failed to fire in domestic football during a dismal year on and off the pitch.
Docked 10 points for financial misdeeds in the aftermath of the club board departing en masse, Juventus ultimately trailed in seventh in Serie A, some 28 points adrift of Scudetto winners Napoli.
While that finish still secured a Europa Conference League place, Max Allegri's men have since been banned from continental competition for a year by UEFA, so they are now preparing for an assault on the Italian top flight and the Coppa Italia.
During their trip Stateside, the Bianconeri will also meet Real Madrid and Serie A rivals Milan, as they warm up for their first league fixture next month, away to Udinese.
Allegri and his management team in Turin have already been busy in the transfer market, with versatile winger Tim Weah and former loanee Arkadiusz Milik both signing permanent deals; Juan Cuadrado and Angel Di Maria are Juve's headline departures so far.
Rumours persist that big-money buy Dusan Vlahovic may soon leave too, but the Serbian striker is still set to join his teammates in Santa Clara on Saturday.
Team News
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Xavi called up 32 players for Barcelona's US tour, and his selection features a few newcomers plus several young hopefuls: Aleix Garrido, Ander Astralaga and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal were all on the plane.
Though each is tipped to leave, Sergino Dest, Clement Lenglet and Franck Kessie - the latter frequently linked with Juventus this summer - also travelled; however, Nico Gonzalez is not involved due to an imminent switch to Porto.
After completing a transfer back to his boyhood club, ex-Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu could even start in midfield on Saturday, when Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde are both set to sit out the game through injury.
Meanwhile, Juve recently made the decision to sideline club captain Leonardo Bonucci, who remains at the club but is likely to move on soon, but Weston McKennie is now back in the fold after an unsuccessful loan to Leeds United, and the Texan may play a part against Barcelona.
Young midfielder Nicolo Fagioli will miss out, as he has yet to fully recover from a collarbone injury suffered in the Europa League semi-final loss to Sevilla, while Moise Kean may be unavailable due to a flexor problem.
With Juan Cuadrado leaving the Bianconeri this summer, United States international Tim Weah would most likely start on the right flank if Max Allegri opts for a 3-5-2 formation. Arkadiusz Milik and Federico Chiesa could then be paired up front.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; R. Araujo, Martinez, Christensen, Alonso; Gundogan, Romeu, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Perin; Danilo, Bremer, Gatti; Weah, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Chiesa, Milik
We say: Barcelona 1-1 Juventus
Both teams are just getting back into the swing of things after a few well-earned weeks off, and with new arrivals yet to settle in, it may be a rather disjointed encounter that plays out at Levi's Stadium. The result could also depend on the coaches' selections, so a low-scoring draw might be most likely.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
